PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's basketball team drained a single-game program record 126 points—including 73 in the second half—en route to a 126-101 victory over Elms College in the Cardinal Classic opener on Friday night at Memorial Hall.
 
The previous program record for points in a game (115) was achieved four times throughout the history of Plattsburgh State men's basketball. It also marked the 61st time in program history that the team has reached the century mark.
 
Plattsburgh State torched the nets, hitting 50 percent (46-of-92) of its shots from the floor, including a 45.5 percent (15-of-33) mark from distance. The Cardinals also won the rebounding battle, 66-36. Elms shot 45.6 percent (36-of-79) from the field, including a 40 percent (14-of-35) clip from long range.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 2-0 overall with the win and closes out its Cardinal Classic slate on Sunday, Nov. 20, with a 5:30 p.m. game against the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Elms drops to 0-2 overall with the loss and finishes out its Cardinal Classic schedule tomorrow at 3 p.m. against RPI.
 
The Cardinals looked to be in control early, opening up a 13-point lead (25-12) with 13:46 to go in the first half. The Blazers chipped away at the deficit over the course of a 25-11 run, and freshman guard/forward DeAngelo Cousar gave Elms its first lead of the game (37-36) with 7:14 remaining in the opening stanza. The two teams traded points until Plattsburgh State used a 9-4 scoring spree to close the half, giving the Cardinals a 53-48 edge heading into the locker rooms.
 
Elms challenged Plattsburgh State early in the second half, going on a 6-2 spurt to pull within one point off a made jumper by senior guard/forward Conny Iherahu. The Cardinals began to get the crowd involved over the course of a game-changing 26-6 run, and a 3-pointer by junior guard Eric Mack (Roosevelt, N.Y./Baldwin) handed the home team an 81-60 advantage and forced an Elms timeout with 10:53 left to play in regulation. Plattsburgh State swelled its cushion as high as 32 points down the stretch, which came off a layup by junior forward Majestic Grigg (New York, N.Y./KIPP NYC) with 2:23 left in the contest.
 
Junior guard Eli Bryant (Staten Island, N.Y./Michael J. Petrides School) keyed the Cardinal attack with a career-high 27 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the floor and 4-of-5 shooting from the line. Sophomore forward Jonathan Patron (Huntington, N.Y./Harborfields) and Mack each finished with double-doubles, with Patron tallying 20 points and 10 rebounds and Mack compiling 18 points and 12 boards. Mack achieved his totals in 21 minutes coming off the bench, and he added four assists, three blocks and a steal. Sophomore guard Brandon Johnson (Greenburgh, N.Y./Woodlands) also came up big in reserve duty, netting a career-high 21 points, while sophomore guard/forward Chris Middleton (New York, N.Y./Cardinal Hayes) fell a rebound shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.
 
For Elms, senior guard Symon Smith knocked down nearly every shot he took, scoring a game-high 30 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the floor, including a perfect 6-of-6 mark from beyond the arc. Ihearahu poured in 19 points, while Cousar and freshman guard/forward Spencer Douglas added 12 points apiece coming off the bench.
 
Prior to the start of the game, head coach Tom Curle was presented with a commemorative ball in honor of his 500th career win, which came against Clarkson University on Tuesday night. Curle has now achieved 501 career wins across 29 seasons as a head coach at the junior college, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III levels.